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, formerly (), is the
police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. A police tactical unit's tas ...
of the German Federal Police ''( Bundespolizei)''. The state police ('' Landespolizei'') maintain their own tactical units known as the ''
Spezialeinsatzkommando ''Spezialeinsatzkommando'' (SEK, "Special Task Force") are police tactical units of each of the 16 German State Police forces. Along with the ''Mobile Einsatzkommando'' (MEK), ''Personenschutzkommando'' (bodyguards), and the ''Verhandlungsgruppe' ...
'' (SEK). The identities of GSG 9 members are classified.


Origins

On 5 September 1972, the Palestinian terrorist movement
Black September Black September ( ar, أيلول الأسود; '' Aylūl Al-Aswad''), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was a conflict fought in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF), under the leadership of King Hussei ...
infiltrated the
Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and H ...
,
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
, to
kidnap In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/ asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the ...
11 Israeli athletes, killing two in the
Olympic Village An Olympic Village is an accommodation center built for the Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials and athletic trainers. Afte ...
in the initial assault on the athletes' rooms. The incident culminated when German policewho were neither trained nor equipped for
counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...
operations, and had underestimated the number of terrorists involvedattempted to rescue the athletes. Police did not have a specialized tactical sniper team at that time. The army had
sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...
s, but the
German Constitution The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came in ...
did not allow the use of German Armed Forces on German soil during peacetime. The police rescue failed, and the operation led to the deaths of one policeman, five of the eight kidnappers and all nine of the remaining hostages.


History

As a consequence of the mismanagement of the Olympic tragedy, the West German government created the GSG 9 under the leadership of then ''
Oberstleutnant () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swed ...
'' Ulrich Wegener so that similar situations in the future could be responded to adequately and professionally. Many German politicians opposed its formation, fearing GSG 9 would rekindle memories of the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
's ''
Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe du ...
'' (SS). The decision was taken to form the unit from police forces, as opposed to the military similar to equivalent forces in other countries, on the ground that German federal law expressly forbids the use of the military forces against the civilian population. Composing the special force from police personnel would avoid that. The unit was officially established on 26 September 1972 as a part of Germany's federal police agency, the ''
Bundesgrenzschutz Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS; en, Federal Border Guard) is the former name of the German ''Bundespolizei'' (Federal Police). Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the BGS originally was prima ...
'' (BGS; Federal Border Guard Service, renamed '' Bundespolizei'' or Federal Police in 2005). The then-BGS did have something of a
paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
nature, used military ranks (until 1976), had combatant status (until 1994), and could (at least theoretically) draw conscripts (until the present). Many other countries have various anti-terrorist units based on GSG-9.


Name change

After renaming the ''Bundesgrenzschutz'' to ''Bundespolizei'' in 2005, the abbreviation "GSG 9" was kept because of the fame of the unit even though Border Protection Units became obsolete. The official way to refer to the unit is GSG9 der Bundespolizei (abbreviated GSG9 BPOL or GSG9).


Operations

GSG 9 is deployed in cases of hostage-taking, kidnapping, terrorism,
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, al ...
and high-risk arrests e.g. in the area of serious and organised crime. An increasing number of arrests by the GSG 9 are conducted in the area of
cybercrime A cybercrime is a crime that involves a computer or a computer network.Moore, R. (2005) "Cyber crime: Investigating High-Technology Computer Crime," Cleveland, Mississippi: Anderson Publishing. The computer may have been used in committing the ...
which often requires quick arrests in order to preserve evidence. The number of deployments in cases of threats to the public safety has also increased. The unit is very active in developing and testing methods and tactics for these missions. In contrast to the
Special Deployment Commando ''Spezialeinsatzkommando'' (SEK, "Special Task Force") are police tactical units of each of the 16 German State Police forces. Along with the ''Mobile Einsatzkommando'' (MEK), ''Personenschutzkommando'' (bodyguards), and the ''Verhandlungsgruppe' ...
s of the states which are trained and equipped for similar missions, GSG 9 can only conduct operations in the states' jurisdictions with the respective state's consent. Operations on a federal level outside the Federal Republic of Germany require the foreign nation's consent, i.e. in a rescue operation of German citizens in a foreign country. Despite the unit's paramilitary nature, GSG 9 officers are strictly limited to policing operations and can't engage in military conflict since GSG 9 officers act as
non-combatants Non-combatant is a term of art in the law of war and international humanitarian law to refer to civilians who are not taking a direct part in hostilities; persons, such as combat medics and military chaplains, who are members of the belligerent a ...
by international law. Until 2009 GSG 9 regularly deployed in foreign countries as a part of a security detail to German embassies in hazardous regions. Due to the workload of the deployments for that purpose, the
PSA BPOL The special unit Polizeiliche Schutzaufgaben Ausland der Bundespolizei (PSA BPOL) ("Police Protection Tasks Abroad of the Federal Police", formerly known as ''ASSIK'' for ''Arbeitsstab Schutzaufgaben in Krisengebieten'') is a specialized unit of t ...
was created.https://www.bundespolizei.de/Web/DE/04Aktuelles/05Kompakt/Bis-02-2019/2017/kompakt_5-17_file.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=5 From 1972 to 2003, GSG 9 reportedly completed over 1,500 missions, discharging their weapons on only five occasions. At the SWAT World Challenge in 2005, GSG 9 won eight out of eight events, beating 17 other teams. GSG 9 defended its championship the following year, and placed fifth in 2007.


Assistance and training of other units

Following the successful rescue operation of Lufthansa Flight 181, GSG 9 received numerous requests from different nations for training their respective special operations units. For instance GSG 9 was consulted among other units in the creation of the US Army's
Delta Force The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), referred to variously as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Army Compartmented Elements (ACE), "The Unit", or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Task F ...
. Germany offered to render assistance to
India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
in the wake of the
November 2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from Pakistan, ...
. GSG 9 helped train and upgrade the
National Security Guards The National Security Guard (NSG), commonly known as Black Cats, is a counter-terrorism unit of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was founded on 16 October 1984, following Operation Blue Star, for combating terrorist activities and p ...
, the primary Indian counter-terrorism unit. Further help was provided to the
Mumbai Police The Mumbai Police (Marathi: मुंबई पोलीस, IAST: ''Mumbaī Pulīs'', formerly ''Bombay Police'') is the police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of Maharashtra Police and has the primary responsibilitie ...
so that they could raise a police tactical unit. The suspected involvement of retired GSG 9 operators in training Libyan security forces in 2008 led to harsh criticism in German media coverage. The assistance in training
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
ian security forces from 2008 to 2011 by GSG9 has also been heavily criticized. In 2015, GSG9 commenced training the specialised BFE+ operators of the
Arrest unit Evidence and arrest units (German: ''Beweissicherungs- und Festnahmeeinheiten'' lit. Units for arrests and securing evidence, abbreviated BFE or BFHu) are special units of the German state police forces Landespolizei and the German Federal Poli ...
s of the German Federal Police.


Missions

Its first mission, " Operation Feuerzauber" (Operation Fire Spell), immediately established the GSG 9's reputation as an elite unit. It was carried out in 1977 when Palestinian terrorists hijacked the ''Landshut'', a
Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
plane on the way from Palma de Mallorca to
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...
, demanding that imprisoned members of the German
Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section " Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970. Th ...
terrorist group be freed in exchange for the passengers and crew who would be held as hostages. The aircraft was then flown to several destinations throughout the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
. During this time, the Lufthansa captain Jürgen Schumann was murdered by the leader of the hijackers in
Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people ...
. However, West German
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law co ...
Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Before becoming Ch ...
negotiated an agreement with Somali President
Siad Barre Mohamed Siad Barre ( so, Maxamed Siyaad Barre, Osmanya script: ; ar, محمد سياد بري; c. 1910 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali head of state and general who served as the 3rd president of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 19 ...
who allowed the West German a tactical unit of the GSG 9 to take over control of the crisis and the storm the plane; with this, special envoy Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski and police commander Ulrich Wegener traveled to Mogadishu with a team of 30 GSG 9 commandos. Following a four-day odyssey, the hijackers directed the
Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...
to
Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...
,
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, where they waited for the arrival of the Red Army Faction members after the German government had (falsely) signalled they would be released. In the night between October 17 and October 18, Somali ranger units created a distraction, while members of the GSG 9 stormed the plane. The operation lasted seven minutes and was successful with all of the hostages rescued. Three hijackers died, the fourth was seriously injured. Only one GSG 9 member and one flight attendant were injured. The international counter-terrorism community applauded the GSG 9 for the excellent and professional handling of the situation, as assaults on planes are considered to be one of the most difficult operations that a hostage rescue force is likely to attempt. To support the GSG 9 action, two accompanying British SAS advisers provided some newly developed flash bang grenades, but ultimately the flash bangs were never used due to the fire risk inside the aircraft cabin.


Publicly known missions

*October 17–18, 1977:
Lufthansa Flight 181 Lufthansa Flight 181 was a Boeing 737-230C jetliner (reg. D-ABCE) named the ''Landshut'' that was hijacked on the afternoon of 13 October 1977 by four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who called themselves Commando ...
was hijacked by four Palestinian terrorists demanding the release of
Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section " Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970. Th ...
(RAF) members. GSG 9 officers stormed the aircraft on the ground in Mogadishu, Somalia, and freed all 86
hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...
s, killing three terrorists and capturing the remaining one. *1982: Arrest of RAF
terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
Brigitte Mohnhaupt Brigitte Margret Ida Mohnhaupt (born 24 June 1949) is a German convicted former terrorist associated with the second generation of the Red Army Faction (RAF) members. She was also part of the Socialist Patients' Collective (SPK). From 1971 until ...
and Adelheid Schulz. * June 27, 1993: Arrest of RAF terrorists Birgit Hogefeld and
Wolfgang Grams Wolfgang Grams (March 6, 1953 – June 27, 1993) was a member of the Red Army Faction (RAF), a German far-left terrorist organisation. Life Wolfgang Grams was born in Wiesbaden, Germany. His parents, Werner and Ruth Grams, were expelled ...
in
Bad Kleinen Bad Kleinen (until 1915 Kleinen) is a municipality in the Nordwestmecklenburg district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the north bank of the Schweriner See. Bad Kleinen is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Geography ...
. The theory that Wolfgang Grams was executed in revenge for the death of GSG 9 operative Michael Newrzella during the mission (Grams had shot and killed Newrzella when Newrzella tried to tackle him) was discredited by the official investigation which found that Grams committed suicide. *1993: Ending of the hijacking of a KLM flight from
Tunis Tunis ( ar, تونس ') is the capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
to
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, redirected to
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
, without firing a single shot. *1994: Ended a hostage situation in the
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 20 ...
Penitentiary A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...
. *1994: Involved in the search for the kidnappers Albert and Polak. *1998: Arrest of a man trying to extort money from the German railway company ''
Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the ...
''. *1999: Arrest of
Metin Kaplan Metin Kaplan (born 14 November 1952) is the leader of the Islamic extremist movement ''Kalifatsstaat'' (" Caliphate State") which is based in Cologne, Germany. Kalifatsstaat Kaplan was born in the Turkish province of Erzurum. Kaplan, who was ...
in
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...
. *1999: Arrest of two suspected members of the ''Rote Zellen'' (Red Cells) in Berlin. *1999: Involved in ending the hostage situation in the central bank in
Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th ...
. *2000: Advised the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
in relation to a hostage situation. *2001: Arrested two spies in Heidelberg. *2001: Assisted in the liberation of four German tourists in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medite ...
. *2002: Arrested a number of terrorists related to the
September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
. *2003: Protection of the four members of the German ''
Technisches Hilfswerk The (THW, English: ''Federal Agency for Technical Relief'') is the federal civil protection organisation of Germany. It is controlled by the German federal government. 99% of its 79,543 members (2019) are volunteers. Tasks The tasks of the ...
'' (THW – the civil protection organization of Germany) in
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesip ...
,
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. The THW's mission was to repair the water distribution network. *2004: GSG 9 is responsible for protecting German embassy property and personnel, including the embassy in
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesip ...
,
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. On April 7, 2004, two members were attacked and killed near
Fallujah Fallujah ( ar, ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah, Iraqi pronunciation: ) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Je ...
while in a convoy travelling from
Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 as of 2021, Amman is ...
,
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
to Baghdad. The men, aged 25 and 38, were travelling in a car at the rear of the convoy, and therefore received most of the enemy fire after passing the
ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind mo ...
. The men were shot after their armoured
Mitsubishi Pajero The Further information on the Mitsubishi P ...
/Shogun was hit and stopped by RPGs. In a later statement, the attackers apologized for mistaking the German convoy for an American convoy. One of the bodies is still missing. *2007: Three suspected terrorists were seized on Tuesday, 4 September 2007 for planning huge bomb attacks on targets in Germany. The bombs they were planning to make would have had more explosive power than those used in the
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
terror attacks. They wanted to build a bomb in southern Germany capable of killing as many as possible. Fritz Gelowicz, 29, Adem Yilmaz, 29 and Daniel Schneider, 22, were charged with membership in a terrorist organization, making preparations for a crime involving explosives and, in Schneider's case, attempted murder. *2009: The GSG 9 were on the verge of boarding a German freighter, the MV ''Hansa Stavanger'', which had been hijacked by
Somali pirates Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Somali ...
. The case of the ''Hansa Stavanger'', at this time off the Somali coast seemed sufficiently symbolic to justify another potentially successful rescue operation, though on a much larger scale. More than 200 GSG 9, equipped with helicopters, speedboats and advanced weapons, had been secretly brought, via
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...
, to a location from the German freighter. The
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
helicopter carrier A helicopter carrier is a type of aircraft carrier whose primary purpose is to operate helicopters, and has a large flight deck that occupies a substantial part of the deck, which can extend the full length of the ship like of the Royal Navy ( ...
was lent to the Germans to act as their flagship, and a screen of
German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified '' Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mar ...
warships flanked the ''Boxer''. The ships had been patrolling near the ''Hansa Stavanger'' for days, waiting at a distance to evade detection on the pirates' radar screens. But the operation was called off before the rescue effort could begin. US National Security Advisor James L. Jones had called the Chancellery to cancel the operation. The US government, worried that the operation could turn into a suicide mission, was sending the USS ''Boxer'' back to the Kenyan port of
Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
, where the German forces were to disembark. Officials at the German Federal Police headquarters in Potsdam, outside Berlin, concerned about the potential for a bloodbath, had also spoken out against the operation. *2012: GSG 9 was involved in a raid on the
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...
Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...
chapter leader 's house, as part of a crackdown on the group. During the raid, they knocked down the wooden gate and rappelled from a helicopter onto his residence. They are also reported to have shot a dog on the premises belonging to Hanebuth. *2016: GSG 9 was deployed to assist with the 2016 Munich shooting. *2021: GSG 9 was participating in the search for Jürgen Conings, Belgium. *2022: GSG 9 units were involved in raids to arrest members of the
Reichsbürger movement ("'' Reich'' Citizens' Movement") or ("''Reich'' Citizen(s)", the German word is the same in singular and in plural) is a label for several anticonstitutional/ revisionist groups and individuals in Germany and elsewhere who reject the legitim ...
suspected of plotting to overthrow the German government. Note: The majority of this unit's missions are
confidential Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise usually executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access or places restrictions on certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, lawyers are often required ...
and public information is not available. Since its inception, GSG 9 has participated in over 1,500 missions, yet reportedly fired shots only on five occasions (official count, prior to the 2003
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
). These occasions were Mogadishu in 1977,
Bad Kleinen Bad Kleinen (until 1915 Kleinen) is a municipality in the Nordwestmecklenburg district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the north bank of the Schweriner See. Bad Kleinen is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Geography ...
in 1993,
Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th ...
in 1999 and two more missions where firearms were used to shoot dogs of the persons being arrested.


Organization

The unit forms part of the German '' Bundespolizei'' (''Federal Police'', formerly ''Bundesgrenzschutz''), and thus has normal
police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...
powers, including, for example, the power of arrest. The Federal Police of Germany (and thus the GSG 9) is under the control of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The ''Bundespolizei'' also provides aerial transportation for the GSG 9. On August 1, 2017, GSG 9 was transferred to the Federal Police Directorate 11 which was established as a supreme command for all special operations units of the German Federal Police.


Personnel and stations

After undergoing a process of reorganising, the GSG 9's operational section is divided into four sub-groups called Einsatzeinheiten. All groups are capable to conducting regular operations which may involve cases of hostage taking, defusing bombs, kidnapping, terrorism or extortion. The group may also be used to secure locations, neutralize targets, sniping and tracking fugitives. Three of the four units are further specialised in the following fields: ; 1st Operational Unit: Sniping ; 2nd Operational Unit: Diving and maritime operations, for example the hijacking of ships or
oil platform An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...
s. ; 3rd Operational Unit: Airborne operations, including
parachuting Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...
and
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribute ...
landings. ; 4th Operational Unit: A Berlin-based unit tasked mainly with police operations in Berlin with an emphasis on urban combat in order to respond to attacks such as the
November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...
. In 2017, the GSG9 announced that a CT unit will be specialised in handling
CBRN Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare (including terrorism) hazards may be present. CBRN defence consist ...
situations. In 2018, it was announced that more staff were being recruited to better handle CT situations in the city. The operational units are supported by various support units which include: ; OEM "Operative Einsatz Medizin"  : The "Operative Einsatz Medizin" is a group of specialized combat Medics who deploy to the field for rescue and care for operators, hostages or civilians. A comparable German unit exists only in the German Air Force, Kampfretter. The motto of the OEM is: "Servare Vitas". OEM also has combat doctors who can make for ex. surgeries in the field. ;Central services : This service group maintains the GSG 9
armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
and is involved in testing, repairing and purchasing
weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, ...
s,
ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
, and
explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ...
. ; Documentation unit: This unit handles
communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqu ...
s, including the testing, repairing and purchasing of communications and
surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...
equipment. ; Operations staff: Handles the administration of GSG 9. ; Technical unit: This unit supports other units in gaining entry to target areas and is responsible for the procurement, testing and issuance of non-weapon equipment. The members of the technical unit are also
explosive ordnance disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milita ...
experts and they are cross-trained in direct action operations. They are trained in the rendering safe and disposal of
improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
s ; Training unit: This unit trains existing members, selects recruits, and trains new members. The GSG 9 is based in Sankt Augustin-Hangelar near
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr ...
. Since 2018, a second station was established for one of the four GSG9 operational units in Berlin in order to reduce response times for missions in or near Berlin.


Commanders

The respective commanders of the GSG9 are the only members appearing publicly with their identity. All commanders have previously served as active operators. * 1972–1980 Ulrich Wegener * 1980–1982 Klaus Blätte * 1982–1991 Uwe Dee * 1991–1997 Jürgen Bischoff * 1997–2005 Friedrich Eichele * 2005–2014 Olaf Lindner * since 2014 Jérôme Fuchs


Recruitment and training

Members of the '' Bundespolizei'' and other German police services below the age of 34 with at least two years of service can apply for the selection process of the GSG 9.


Selection

Candidates for the GSG 9 undergo five days of assessment in order to be accepted into the training cycle. The tests include medical examinations, psychological assessments, marksmanship training with pistol and submachine gun, oral interviews and a physical test which includes: *
Cooper test The cooper test which was designed by Kenneth H. Cooper in 1968 for US military use is a physical fitness test. In its original form, the point of the test is to run as far as possible within 12 minutes. Pacing is important, as the participant w ...
*
100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...
sprint * Standing long jump * A minimum of ten pull-ups *
Bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...
: Minimum of ten repetitions of 75% of the candidate's body weight * Obstacle course * Agility test * Resistance test against vertigo Approximately 10-15% of all candidates pass the selection phase and are accepted in to the basic training section.


Basic training and specialisation

The subsequent 4.5-month training period includes the basic and specialized training. During the basic training section candidates undergo vigorous training which prepares them for their tasks as operators in the GSG9. The training includes marksmanship training, tactical courses, close quarter combat, land navigation, climbing, rappelling and medical training. The basic training concludes with the final week of rigorous testing where candidates are forced to demonstrate their skills under enormous stress. Upon successful completion of the basic training, candidates undergo various training sections for their respective specialisation. These may include parachuting, maritime operations, advanced marksmanship, advanced medical skills or EOD techniques. Successful completion of all training cycles allows GSG9 operators to wear the GSG9 badge on their uniforms and given the title police officer for special purposes in accordance with their rank. Further training often involves co-operation with other allied counter-terrorism units like
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
's
Yamam The Yamam ( he, ימ"מ, an acronym for ''Centralized Special Unit'' , ''Yeḥida Merkazit Meyuḥedet''), also called in Hebrew and Israel's National Counter Terror Unit (I.N.C.T.U.) in English, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, ...
, Australia’s Specialist Response Group, France’s Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale (GIGN) or (National Gendarmerie Intervention Group) and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
’s
Hostage Rescue Team The Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) is the elite tactical unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The HRT was formed to provide a full-time federal law enforcement tactical capability to respond to major terrorist incidents throughout the ...
from the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
.


Associations

* GSG9 is a member of the
ATLAS Network Atlas Network, formerly known as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative group ...
. * In 1975,
Bischofsgrün Bischofsgrün is a municipality in the district of Bayreuth in Bavaria in Germany. Bischofsgrün is situated within the Fichtelgebirge mountain range between the range's two largest mountains; Schneeberg (1051 m) and the Ochsenkopf (1024 m). T ...
, Bavaria, assumed a sponsorship of the GSG 9. * Since 1983, the GSG 9 hosts the Combat Team Conference (CTC) on a four-year basis. The CTC is a competition of international special forces units. * The ''GSG-9-Kameradschaft e. V. '' is an association of former GSG 9 operators. * Along with the Federal Criminal Police Office GSG 9 is part of the expert group EG GE (''Expert group for kidnappings and hostage recovery in foreign countries'')


Annual Warrior Competition

GSG 9 won the 2012
Annual Warrior Competition The Annual Warrior Competition is a combat-oriented competition that is based on physical ability, teamwork, communication and individual accuracy which takes place at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Centre (KASOTC) in Amman, Jo ...
defeating the defending 2011 champion
EKO Cobra EKO Cobra (german: Einsatzkommando Cobra; "Task Force Cobra") is the police tactical unit of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior. EKO Cobra is not part of the Austrian Federal Police, but instead is directly under the control of the ...
.


See also

* Zentrale Unterstützungsgruppe Zoll – Special Support Team for Customs *
Diensteinheit IX The ''Diensteinheit IX'' ( en, Service Unit 9) was a special and covert counter-terrorism unit of the German Democratic Republic Volkspolizei. It was not the same as the ''9. Volkspolizei-Kompanie'' (English: ''9th People's Police Company'') since ...
– East Germany's equivalent unit *
GIGN The GIGN ( ; ) is the elite police tactical unit of the National Gendarmerie of France. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (su ...
- French equivalent *
EKO Cobra EKO Cobra (german: Einsatzkommando Cobra; "Task Force Cobra") is the police tactical unit of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior. EKO Cobra is not part of the Austrian Federal Police, but instead is directly under the control of the ...
- Austrian Equivalent * GEO - Spanish equivalent *
Public Security Section 9 is a fictional gendarmerie-style information security and intelligence department from Masamune Shirow's '' Ghost in the Shell'' manga and anime series. In the franchise, its jurisdiction exists under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In so ...
– fictional Japanese variant inspired/based on GSG9


References


External links


Official GSG 9 page of the German Federal Police

Site of the GSG 9 companionship
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gsg 9 1972 establishments in Germany GSG 9 Non-military counterterrorist organizations